Offensive struggles block out defense

Part of what made Texas Tech’s 47-38 loss to Texas A&M on Tuesday night so frustrating for the Red Raiders was the fact that one of their strongest defensive performances of the season was wasted.

Tech held a conference opponent under 50 points for the second straight game — the first time it has achieved that feat since 1987, when it limited Southwest Conference foes Texas Christian and Texas to 48 and 46 points, respectively, in consecutive contests. A&M’s 34 percent shooting mark on Tuesday was the third straight game in which a Tech opponent converted less than 35 percent of its attempts from the field.

“We defended well enough to win,” Tech coach Billy Gillispie said after the game.

Unfortunately for Tech, the same could not be said for an offense that mustered only 14 points over the game’s final 26½ minutes. Tech’s 38 points were its fewest since a 60-35 loss to Arkansas on Jan. 28, 1981 and its fewest at home since a 41-38 loss, also to Arkansas, on Jan. 4, 1977.

So how did such a hot offensive start for Tech — the Red Raiders led 24-9 with 6½ minutes left in the first half, shooting about 60 percent from the field during that stretch — fizzle to such a large degree?

For one, A&M took better care of the ball after falling behind. Tech was able to get on track with a few easy baskets by forcing early turnovers, just as it did in its win over Oklahoma on Saturday. Tech scored nine points off the Aggies’ first nine turnovers in the first 13½ minutes, but they didn’t score off a turnover again after that point.

The Red Raiders also stalled their own offensive pace by committing eight of their 14 turnovers (twice as many as they had in the win over the Sooners) in the second half. A&M’s 12 points off those turnovers were as many as Tech had the entire period.

“I thought our guys fought through some adversity in the first half and did a great job defensively in the second half,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said, “and we did a better job taking care of the ball.”

Tech also missed a handful of open shots. The Red Raiders shot just 28 percent (4 of 14) from 3-point range and they didn’t fare much better with mid-range jumpers.

“We had a lot of wide-open shots in the second half, when we were playing conservatively,” Gillispie said. “They were wide-open shots. We went 2 of 10 from 3 (in the second half). We missed a lot of little seven-, eight-, 10-foot shots. You’ve got to make those shots to try to win.”

The good news for Tech is that it appears to be finding itself defensively. The Red Raiders have moved up to seventh in the Big 12 in scoring defense (66.2 points per game) after occupying the bottom spot earlier this season, and they have displayed improved toughness on that side of the ball in recent weeks.

Tech’s chances of notching more wins this season will be determined by whether the offense can make up ground as well.